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Tell us how you came to own your first BMW:

i'm pretty new to the world of BMW motorcycles,

i purchased my first bike (a Honda CB750F) in Febuary of 2004. after months of fiddling around with it, i took it to a repair shop and was told two of the pistons had no compression. i looked around for a new bike and found an 84 R100 for sale cheap cause it was pretty beat up. i discovered the MOA and Yankee Beemers a few months later and was hooked. my riding friends are amazed at what a strong community BMW motorcycles have and how active a group of riders we are. i was curious how other members discovered the world of BMW.

In '86 I bought a '84 Guzzi leftover. I had wanted a R65LS but it cost too much. Then I started seeing the K75S and really had the BMW wannabes. So, sometime around the fall '91 or '92 I saw a local R75 w/a Vetter fairing for sale. I scooped it up thinking I got a good deal. I sold the Vetter to finance a new seat and front fender. Then I had the side covers and fender painted by a friend with an Auto Body shop. By now it was spring and I took it for a ride. I hated it! Compared to my Guzzi it was big, heavy and had no brakes. So, I sold it and broke even. Fast forward to '99 when I bought a used Suzuki Bandit. I new I wanted a new bike and I knew it was gonna be a BMW. By now the K75S was gone and the K1200RS was too expensive so I bought the cheapest oilhead - the R1100RL in 2000. I would have been happy with a used K75S. Love or hate BMWs the BMW community is the best!

My brother in Boise Idaho, sent me a link for a Used 2002 BMW. When I opened the link there she was.. a BEAUTIFUL silver R1150RS. with 2 foot tall letters in the background.. Bob's BMW. I took it as a sign from God, and raced North to buy it!

I knew I wanted a BMW after seeing the K1. I was hooked on rice rockets at the time, but really liked BMW's.
One day I was discussing motorcycles with a guy at work and he said he had a BMW, he brought in the ON and I paged through it(hook set). He had a R100/7 that didn't run that he was selling. We never agreed on a price, but later he ssaid that he was selling his K100LT, we negotiated a price, and the day I was to pick it up he said he changed his mind.
I was major pissed and bummed, that night I was on the internet looking at BMW's for sale and found a K1100LT an hour north of me, made a call went and looked at it. I already had the cash lined up from the failed deal. So I bought it .

I wanted a bike again really badly in 01. I rode old Hondas when I was a kid/teenager. My brother and dad have 4 Harleys between them and were encouraging me big time. I spent a lot of 02 doing research on inexpensive starter bikes...something interesting and other than a Harley, because I wanted to be the family rebel. I went into Gina's in Iowa City one day in late summer and they had an 80 R65 for cheap and I liked it. And I really liked the folks in the shop. So I bought it. Rode it through most of the Iowa winter, then bought an R1100R in the spring. Since then I've become a serial bike trader in that elusive search for the perfect ride. But I am NOT buying a different bike in 05. I'm not. No.

First BMW's double life

I moved to Belgium in 1989 and at the time owned a HD ST. It was quickly apparent that the HD was completely unsuited to the European scene. ( on a side note - sadly posing is slowly infecting Europe) Sold the HD here and bought one of the first oilheads. Sport bike riding is hugely popular in Europe, and it is the real McCoy. (nonexistent or ignored speed limits, winding roads, and a population which supports the sport). Some might say that I fell in with the wrong crowd. To make a long story short, check out "Bakker Bomber" at www.bakker-framebouw.nl The bike was transformed from a "pleasant ride" to a fantastic sport bike.
I rode it for five years and took it over to the "Isle of Man" in 2000. This is a BMW which, when in action, impresses the DUC riders.
When I moved back to the states, it quickly became apparent that I could not enjoy its performance potential here.
I made a deal with BOB's for an 1150GS and to get the bike in his collection.
If you are in the area, check it out at Bob's BMW
By the way, love the GS

I hadn't ridden much in high school and college, and only on borrowed machines. In 1972, on a car trip around the country after grad school, we camped at the KOA in Indianola, between Eureka and Arcata, CA. In the next spot were two guys on /2 machines. Quiet, and they had real electrical systems: the headlights didn't dim at idle. I was entranced, and thought "I want one of those.

I was not even slightly interested in bikes as a teen. (I'm a computer nerd.) In my early 20s, we're talking 1978 here, an older friend had bikes, older street bikes usually, and occasionally I'd hitch a ride on one. Then he added a second bike, a Yamaha enduro. So, I got my learners permit and he let me ride one or the other bike. Still, I wasn't really into it, yet... I was still borrowing my roommate's helmet. But it did get more serious, and I used the Yamaha to get my license.

Well, being single and a nerd, I had some money jangling in my pockets. Bought a new car. Changed jobs. My friend bought his first new bike, an R65, and he told me he had always wanted a BMW. A couple years later, with even a bit more money in my pocket, I too bought an R65. That's what really did it; before, I rode occasionally, but I picked up the bike on a Tuesday and brought it in for the first service on Saturday.

The funny thing is, I never followed bike magazines or really had much interaction with the bike community. It never really occured to me to look into any of the other marques...

I was on the back of a BMW when I was 15.5. It was my 21 year old boyfriends, it was an R65. I had an eye for Beemers ever since.
I did a pillion stint on the back of an HD sportster, my head still turned for the "plastic" machines. In '99 friends encouraged me to get my license. I never even considered another brand. My Yamaha driving office mate came in 3 days after I got my endorsement, and told me of a BMW for sale on his way to work. We set out at lunch to look at it. A beautiful blue K75C. I didn't know a K from an R from anything. My friend took it for a test drive, as I'd never been out of second gear on a Nighhawk 250 ( MSF class). He reluctantly advised me it was nice - even if it was a Beemer. I remember my face was sore from smiling as I followed in my car behind my friends pickup, the K75 in the back of (I can't believe I "trailered" my first bike home). It was maybe 20 miles home I though of this 6 years, and some 80,000 BMW miles later as I picked up my third Beemer, a K12GT in Cleveland and set out for a two day ride home. My how things change! And all the Beemers still turn my head...

I was on the back of a BMW when I was 15.5. It was my 21 year old boyfriends, it was an R65.

is that sorta thing legal up in cow hampshire

as I'd never been out of second gear on a Nighhawk 250 ( MSF class).

a friend of mine took his liscence test last year (after riding for 7 years) and was forced by the MSF instructor to foot the bill for a new set of pegs on one of these bikes, he'd burned off enough of the ones on his "class bike" hahaha.........

I got the BMW bug in 1986 when I first saw the new K75, but at that time I had to be happy with my Honda CB650SC. I gave up MC riding in 1989 with the sale of that machine and was off the road for almost four years. In 1993 the riding fever took hold again and I started looking around. At first I was lured to the H-D camp, but I came to my senses and bought a 1993 BMW K75. Unfortunately after 5 months and 4K miles I totaled that one in an accident involving a windy road and a tree . I replaced it with a '94 K75 and had a great time riding it, putting 87K on it. I sold it to focus on my business and was inactive for 18 months. I got back to BMW's with the purchase of a 1993 R100RT. From there I bought my current Beemer ride, a pristine 1993 K1100RS.

Originally Posted by Motard

I moved to Belgium in 1989 and at the time owned a HD ST. It was quickly apparent that the HD was completely unsuited to the European scene. ( on a side note - sadly posing is slowly infecting Europe)
M J Stone

first ride

I can still remeber the fear I had,in lettin'out the clutch for the first time.It was January 26th, 1965, the bike was a '59 650 cc BSA, the temperature was 35 degrees BELOW zero,and it was on a back alley in Winnipeg. I bet I travelled almost a mile before I found the courage to shift into 2nd gear,then it was like water runnin'off a duck's back. Must've dropped the bike 3 times,but you couldn't have chiselled the smile off my kisser. Rode it 7 miles to where I was stayin',and had to stop and wrap my gloved hands'round the pipes,my fingers were freeeeezing.Have owned many bikes since,but will never forget that first ride...

ps. a minor bit of trivia, I owned the first oil head BMW in N. America,( purchased in May,95,a r1100rs) and 26 days after I bought it,the odometer was reading 22,550 kms. after completing the USA 4 corners tour,which I completed in 12 days...